Population Genetics and Behavioral Ecology: Orange, Blue, & Yellow Male Uta stansburiana
Tested Studies in Laboratory Teaching, 2016, Volume 37
Ralph Preszler & Avis James
Abstract
Variation in throat color among male side-blotched lizards, Uta stansburiana, is associated with variation
in male size and mating strategies. Success of alternative mating strategies is dependent on the frequencies
of types of males in the population. In this research-based case study, students use population genetics
(Hardy-Weinberg Equilibrium), descriptions of mating strategies, and the results of a behavioral ecology
field experiment to explore the evolutionary processes that maintain multiple male throat colors in
populations. The activity illustrates the maintenance of variation in a population through balancing
frequency-dependent selection.
Keywords: behavioral ecology, population genetics
Boston University (2015)
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